By Liz Borkowski Although work has begun on a fifth borehole into the Crandall Canyon mine, officials acknowledged yesterday that the six miners may not be found. This LA Times article describes the anguishing choice between leaving the miners underground â a notion âakin to soldiers leaving comrades on the battlefieldâ â and risking more […]
When MSHA’s Gary Jensen, 53, died last week in a rockburst at the Crandall Canyon mine, it had been 26 years since a federal mine inspector had died in the line of duty. Mr. Jensen joined MSHA in 2001 as an inspector. He had worked for nearly 30 years as a coal miner, and was especially skilled in roof […]
Join an on-line chat at 1:00 pm today (8/16) on technology to locate trapped miners. On day 11, the rescue efforts continue for the six trapped miners at a Utah coal mine. A third borehole (2″) punctured the mine workings yesterday afternoon to allow a camera to be lowered into the mine to scan for any sign of the […]
The Salt Lake Tribune reports that a third borehole has reached a cavity in the Crandall Canyon mine, but efforts to lower a microphone into it have failed so far. The Tribune has the most extensive coverage of the rescue efforts, and in a blog post yesterday Arianna Huffington contrasts its performance to that of […]
by Tom Bethell                                                                                                     (Posted with permission from The Mountain Eagle, Whitesburg, KY) As we go to press, six coal miners remain trapped in Murray Energyâs Crandall Canyon Mine, near Huntington, Utah. Nothing has been heard from them since a portion of the mine caved in on August 6, and the heartbreakingly slow efforts to reach […]
In “Memo shows mine already had roof problems,” (Aug 12) the Salt Lake Tribune‘s Robert Gehrke first reported on a history of rockbursts at the Crandall Canyon mine.* I first learned this on NPR‘s Morning Edition (Aug 14) when Frank Langfitt reported that in March of this year, another severe rockburst occurred at the Crandall Canyon coal mine. Apparently, no […]
Ellen Smith, Managing Editor of Mine Safety and Health News reported at 5:30 pm (EST, 8/12) on the status of the operation to rescue the six trapped miners at the Crandall Canyon mine in Emery County, Utah. She wrote that MSHA Assistant Secretary Richard Sticker, said they are dealing with “the most difficult ground conditions — ever” and […]
by Ken Ward, Jr. (This item first appeared on Nieman Watchdog; posted with permission) Often after accidents like the one at Crandall Canyon, Utah, mine operators claim their mines had relatively few violations. Even if thatâs trueâand often it isnâtâârelatively fewâ just isnât good enough in a risky venture like coal mining. As I write […]
In the last few days, we have all been in a state of shock over the situation in Utah. Like several of my colleagues, I have been praying for the trapped Utah miners and their families and friends. I have been tuning in to the press conferences with mine owner Bob Murray, and I have […]
Marty Bennett was a coal miner with 29 years of experience, including work at operations that practiced “retreat mining.” He died at age 51 at the Sago mine in January 2006, along with 11 other coal miners. Today, his family organized a letter of support for the Crandall Canyon miners’ families from victim-families of previous coal mining fatalities. Their letter was published in […]